And without question tonight, the toll from this crash of flight 214 would have been much higher if it hadn't been for those heroic flight attendants, as well as the first responders and other passengers who were helping people get off the plane before they would get off themselves. But more than half of those on board were injured, some of them critically. Abc's cecilia vega is right here with me in san francisco tonight. Reporter: Many of the passengers on board flight 214 never thought they would make it out alive. I feel lucky. Because we totally have six family members traveled on this plane and we all are safe. So I feel lucky. Reporter: Among her family members still in the hospital, her 4-year-old son, with a broken leg. For some, surviving was nothing short of a miracle. But for many others, the nightmare is only now unfolding. Of the 51 people who remain hospitalized, eight cling to life, one of them, a child. Their injuries? There's just one way to describe them -- horrific. Doctors at san francisco general hospital are working around the clock to save them. Many passengers are still unconscious. Dr. Margaret knudsen is head of the trauma team. She says the crash injuries look like what she saw in the war zones of iraq. They were dragged by the airplane? We don't know for sure. We're just saying that they have the type of rash that we see if somebody were to take a body and pull it across the cement. So, I don't know where these people were when this happened. Reporter: Aviation experts say the boeing 777 may have slammed into the runway at 150 miles per hour. The impact so hard, it snapped passengers' spines. At least two are paralyzed. This picture tweeted by ntsb investigators shows a mangled and crushed plane interior. One of the patients told you she saw the row in front of her Collapse on top of her. Reporter: What does that tell you about the impact? Well, obviously, it was a huge impact, for a plane to crash, but it broke her sternum and she's a young person. We figure it must have been the seat that did that. One of the patients actually has seat marks, you can see where the indentation was. Reporte THE PASSENGERS Sitting in the back of the plane were hurt the worst. Among them? The two 16-year-old chinese girls who died. Back in china, their parents comforted by other parents of children also on flight 214. The kids were on their way to spend the summer at a los angeles area christian camp to learn english. Today, members of that church coming together for a special service. &#9834; also sending prayers to everyone still fighting for survival tonight. Incredible stories emerging from the hospitals. Cecelia with me now. You were talking about those spinal injuries, to concerning. But doctors telling you they were stunned at the number who survived this? Reporter: Yeah, 307 people, just 50 today in the hospital. Really, that's pretty remarka remarkable. The doctor says that the road to recovery is going to be so long and so difficult. People who have already had surgeries will be back in the operating room again for more surgeries. I said outright, of the ople so critical right now, do you think they'll make it? And this doctor said, I hope so.

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